2017 Tech Gifts: Best Gadgets Under $100

While expensive tech toys like the Nintendo Switch and PS4 Pro always get lots of attention, there are a ton of awesome tech gifts that won’t bust your budget. We have put together a list of ten of the best gadgets under $100 that will keep your holiday spending to a minimum.

Buy This Gift for Someone That’s an Amazon Prime member

The Amazon Echo Dot packs quite a punch for smart home voice control as well as multi-room music streaming and a whole-home intercom system. Beyond all that, call out “Alexa” and you can tell it to play music, check the weather, order items on Amazon or a huge number of smart home features assuming you have accompanying hardware. (The 2nd gen Echo is also just shy of $100 at $99.99.)

Buy This Gift for an Old-School, Retro Gamer

While the Switch is a fantastic console for new Nintendo games, you can hop in a time machine to take you back to the late 80’s with the Super NES Classic system. Updated with an HDMI port, the Super NES Classic comes preloaded with 21 games built-into the system. No need for blowing on cartridges anymore!

Buy This Gift for Someone That’s Really into Virtual Reality

While VR headsets like the Oculus can set you back hundreds of dollars, you can get into VR inexpensively with the Samsung Gear VR. Combined with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, this cheap headset lets you play games or watch video content in apps like Netflix and Hulu in complete privacy.

MSRP: $100 | Lowest Price on Ben’s: $20

Pros: Inexpensive entry into VR, easy to use touch pad, low latency when head tracking, large library of games in latest version of hardware.

Buy This Gift for Someone Who Loves to Watch Netflix & Hulu

Updated for 4K televisions, the 2017 Chromecast Ultra is a $70 HDMI dongle that plugs into your HDTV and allows you to stream 4K video content from your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet as well as computers. It’s significantly faster than the basic 1080p model and supports tons of great streaming video services like Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, Hulu, Pandora, HBO GO, Showtime Anytime, Spotify, Plex and Starz Play. (The Fire TV 4K stick is also the same price at $70.)

MSRP: $69 | Lowest Price on Ben’s: $69

Pros: Faster than the original Chromecast. Installation takes just a couple minutes. Streams media content from many supported apps with minimal effort.

Cons: More expensive than base model. Not as useful without a 4K HDTV. Mobile Gaming is hit or miss, right now.

Buy This Gift for Someone Who Travels With Family Constantly

But, wait, more dongles! The SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick is basically a twist on the standard USB storage drive. Specifically, the device doubles as a wireless network drive compatible with Android and iOS devices. In other words, you could stream high definition video content to multiple devices in an area that doesn’t have Wi-Fi. This would be perfect for a family on a flight or an extended car ride, for instance.

MSRP: $100 | Lowest Price on Ben’s: $60 for 128GB version

Pros: Streams HD video to up to three mobile devices at once. Supports up to 256GB memory if larger storage capacity is required.

Buy This Gift for Someone Who Loves Shooting Smartphone Video

Ideal for anyone that’s trying to get a YouTube channel off the ground, the Ampridge MightyMic S shotgun microphone significantly reduces background noise when shooting in noisy areas. This type of mic is ideal for action shots, basically anything that will require quick movements with the camera. (If you are shooting interviews on the go, consider the Rode smartLav+ Lavalier microphone.)

Buy This Gift for Someone Who Loves to Work Out

There’s no reason that you should be physically tethered to your mobile device by a headphone jack in 2017. Resistant to water and sweat, the Skullcandy Sport Method Wireless earbuds offer nine hours of playback on a single charge and include volume / playback controls along the sports band as well as a microphone for voice calls.

Buy This Gift for Someone That Isn’t Great with Wi-Fi Tech

Taking all the worry out of setting up a Wi-Fi network for the home, the Securifi Almond includes a touchscreen that walks someone through the process of setting up wireless access. Installation only takes a few minutes and all security settings are pre-configured to avoid open network issues. For anyone more familiar with home networks, it also doubles as an excellent Wi-Fi range extender if you are having trouble using Wi-Fi on the opposite side of your home.

Buy This Gift for Someone Who Loves to Share New Music with Friends

While it’s not going to win any design awards, 4,000+ Amazon reviews averaging 4.5 / 5 stars can’t be wrong about the Anker Classic bluetooth speaker. Reviewers praise the range on the device as well as the sound quality (for the size) and the extremely long battery life. It also includes a microphone for anyone that wants to take smartphone calls.

MSRP: $79 | Lowest Price on Ben’s: $25

Pros: Impressive 15 to 20-hour battery life of playtime. Range of up to 33 feet, microphone range up to two feet. Auto-connect to the last connected device.

Buy This Gift for Someone Who Loves to Read

The standard Amazon Kindle got a boost last year and is still a solid choice for a starter e-reader. It continues to receive positive praise due to the ability to read books in sunlight as well as its storage capacity. You can easily load up 1,000+ books on the device and take your entire library with you while on the go.

MSRP: $79 | Lowest Price on Ben’s: $50

Pros: Weighs less than 7 ounces. Typically battery life lasts about one month. Amazon Prime users can find significant discounts on Kindle books.

Cons: You won’t be able to read books in the dark. Costs an additional $20 to remove advertising from the device.

About Mike Flacy

By day, I'm the Editor-in-Chief for The CheckOut in addition to being the content manager for Steve's Digicams and High-Def Digest. During my free time, I love to write about pop culture, home theater, digital photography, social media, mobile technology and cool gadgets!

The Securify Almond router should only be given to someone you hate and want to annoy.

The Amazon Dot is discounted in bulk – buy 3, get $20 off; buy 6, pay for 5. A very useful device to have, especially if you have other stuff in your house (like Ooma VOIP, or a wi-fi thermostat or sprinkler controller or TP-Link wi-fi switches, or other supported wi-fi devices the thing can control. Exceeded my expectations for usefulness by far, and for $50, endless playtime.

Ermahgerd!

Welcome to The CheckOut, the geeky, Internet-addicted cousin to Ben's Bargains. The CheckOut is the place to check out shiny tech toys, Internet foolishness and anything else in between. We scour the Web for the latest memes, cool products and ridiculously awesome design work, all for your enjoyment.

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